1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates generally to the field of archery bows and, more particularly, to cable guards for compound archery bows.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Compound archery bows use pulleys located at the extreme ends of the bow limbs to provide enhanced draw characteristics. However, unless somehow offset, the cables typically trained around the pulleys will normally extend undesirably close to the plane of the bow in a position which can interfere with the path of an arrow launched from the bow. It is a customary practice to provide such bows with a cable guard which extends rearwardly from a midpoint on the handle or riser portion of the bow and is sufficiently offset from the plane of the bow so that the cables are spaced laterally away from the arrow in a non-interfering position. In addition, a cable guide is slidably mounted on the guard and defines a pair of grooves in which the cables slide as the bow limbs are stressed. One current design of such cable guards employs a one-piece bent rod having shapes similar to those disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,222 to Quartino et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,678 to Walker. This design can create problems when used with bows having a relatively short brace height because during operation the cable guide can slide into the bent portion, causing the cable guide to disorient itself relative to the cables and become dislodged therefrom. Also, because the deflection forces exerted by the cables against the cable guard increase as the bow is drawn and as the point of contact between the cables and cable guard moves rearwardly further away from the riser, the rearmost leg of the cable guard may be formed so that it is angled a few degrees relative to the plane of the bow. This helps the cable guard to overcome the side forces exerted by the cables and minimize the cable guard "leaning in" effect which otherwise can occur at full draw. The "leaning in" effect causes a problem in that the guard may not be able to return to a non-interfering position before the bowstring returns. This problem increases over time as increased usage causes the cable guard to experience material fatigue. While helpful to overcome the "leaning in" effect, such a modification is otherwise not desirable.
As an alternative to the bent type cable guard, two piece L-shaped cable guards have also been employed. An example of an L-shaped type cable guard is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,122 to Simonds. Such guards employ a straight rod which is mounted to the bow riser by a mounting member which extends normally to the rod a distance sufficient to provide a desired range of offset between the rod and the plane of the bow. This design eliminates the problems associated with the bent portion of the bent type cable guards, but contributes disadvantages of its own. For example, the two piece L-shaped type cable guards are structurally weaker and cause an even greater "leaning in" effect than do the bent type cable guards.